Establishing Heat-Transfer Mechanisms in Dry Sands

Abstract

The heat-transfer phenomenon in dry sands, which is generally looked at from the perspective of conduction, was studied with the thermal flux method (TFM) proposed in the literature. However, when results from the TFM were compared with those obtained from the numerical simulation, a substantial disparity was noticed. Through careful analysis of the results, it was realized that there is a significant contribution from the convective heat and possible ingress of lateral heat into the column, which would violate the assumption that the heat migration is one-dimensional (conductive). To quantify the ingress of lateral heat in the column, the TFM was suitably modified, designated as the modified thermal flux method (MTFM). It was found that the results from the MTFM match quite well with those obtained from the numerical simulation, with adequate boundary conditions. In short, MTFM facilitates understanding the of the mechanisms of heat transfer in dry sands by conduction and convection, as demonstrated in this technical note.